Political Science 102: Introduction to Political Science

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I. Political Science as Science

• Politics
• Deciding who gets what, when, and how. Harold
  Lasswell
• Politics as an organizing principle.
• Distribution of goods services
• Assignment of social roles and power

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I. Political Science as Science

• Science
• knowledge or a system of knowledge covering
  general truths or the operation of general laws
  especially as obtained and tested through the
  scientific method a state of knowing.

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I. Political Science as Science

• Science
• Concept of science.
• Observation/perception
• Conscious thought to direct attention

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I. Political Science as Science

• Science
• Scientific Method (steps)
• Observe some phenomena.
• Invent a hypothesis.
• Use the hypothesis to make predictions.
• Test predictions by experiments or further
  observations and modify the hypothesis in the
  light of your results.
• Repeat steps 3 and 4 until there are no
  discrepancies between theory and experiment
  and/or observation.

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Lets merge
Deciding who gets what, when, and how. Harold
Lasswell
and
knowledge or a system of knowledge covering
general truths or the operation of general laws
especially as obtained and tested through
scientific method
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We get
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I. Political Science as Science

• Political Science
• Defined the systematic study and evaluation of
  government, politics, and public policies through
  scientific means.
• How do governments work and what do they do?
• What should government do?
• Is political science a science?

What do you think? Why?
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I. Political Science as Science

• Political Science
• Is political science a science?
• Many say no Why?
• Study of human behaviortoo complex
• Belief in free will (big one)
• Individual vs. group actions
• Cannot make precise predictions of political
  outcomes
• No precise methods or techniques

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I. Political Science as Science

• Political Science
• Is political science a science?
• I say yes
• Science is linking theory w/ phenomena (ifthen
  statements)
• Ifthen statements causality. If we know what
  causes something, we can predict when it occurs
  and explain it.
• Hard social sciences use scientific methods

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I. Political Science as Science

• Fields of Political Science (5 spokes)
• Political Theory
• Public Administration Public Policy
• International Relations
• Comparative Government
• National Politics
• Research Methods
• Subfields areas of study within a field.
• Ex National Politics (U.S.) President,
  Congress, Courts, Voting, Parties, State local,
  elections, etc.

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For next week

• Readings Grigsby, Ch 1 2
• Assignment 02

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(No Transcript)
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For next week

• Readings Grigsby, Ch 1 2
• Assignment 02
• We may be moving to a different roomkeep your
  eyes on your e-mail my web site

Before we leave Group Photos stay afterward if
you have questions
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